An eerie quiet over New York City: The flights are gone

The airspace around New York City is typically some of the busiest in the world. Three major airports crammed into a tiny space service thousands of daily aircraft movements. But these are not normal days.

Looking at the departure boards it appears that the daily COVID-19 death count in New York City this week will exceed the number of daily departures from its airports.

American’s plan involves not only a drastic reduction in frequency and routes but also a significant operational change. The remaining flights will occur only between 10a-6p and will all be operated as turns from other stations. They will be staffed by non-NYC crew and the company intends to operate with only a skeleton level of staff on the ground. The goal is to keep as many people home as possible in NYC, hoping to slow the spread.

And the company does not expect many passengers on board, even with the reduced capacity. On Sunday the busiest flight carried only 27 passengers for a load factor of 16%. Nine flights out of the area had a single traveler on each. Planning for social distancing on board should not be too much trouble. But the Miami turn will fly on a 777-200, not a smaller jet. Presumably this is tied to cargo needs; supplies are still moving through the region even as passengers are not.

United’s cuts are similar to American’s but not quite as deep. The carriers will still operate a small number of international routes in addition to a few domestic hops, keeping New York City connected and keeping the cargo moving, even as passenger demand is nil.

Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines are also trimming their New York City operations, but not this deeply, at least not yet. Expect that to change, however, as the situation evolves.

About Seth Miller

Seth Miller has over a decade of experience covering the airline industry. With a strong focus on passenger experience, Seth also has deep knowledge of inflight connectivity and loyalty programs. He is widely respected as an unbiased commentator on the aviation industry.

He is frequently consulted on innovations in passenger experience by airlines and technology providers.

Who knows? If Seth’s common sense recommendation gets the attention of just one editor, reporter, influencer at a local blog (like CurbedNY or NYYIMBY, which is widely read, especially by developers & other High Net Worth folks) it could get enough traction to at least get serious consideration.

I like the intent but often the logistics is where the risks are. Will suspending LGA be as simple as that? I’m no pilot and wonder if the aviators see it creating more risk to have such a massive transitions of equipment, new approach vectors, etc. Is the juice worth the squeeze to risk such a transition? On another note, with so few flights in the air and cars/trucks on the road…is anyone tracking air quality, pollution, etc.?

It should not be a problem for licensed commercial pilots to land at JFK or Newark rather than at LaGuardia. It is a different approach but not different enough nor especially complex – especially with the generally low traffic volume – that it would be a problem. Beyond that, I would not expect any equipment would be moved out of LGA, just that the schedules would remove it as an option. The other two facilities have plenty of spare capacity to handle the minimal overflow.